About the book

For decades, the horror film has been at once vilified for its often-violent content and exploited by large film studios as a near-certain moneymaker. In recent years, however, a small number of international auteurs have emerged to infuse the genre with a new kind of meaning and intelligence, even as they reinvigorate flagging box office returns.

But these individuals are only the most visible figures in a much larger “New Horror” movement. All over the world, writers, filmmakers and other artists are using the unique “everyone’s welcome” attitude of the genre to create new and startling works of the imagination, all on their own terms. In the process, they also are exploring what it is to be human in the 21st century.

The New Horror Handbook goes behind the scenes to speak with modern horror luminaries including:

Eli Roth (director, Hostel, Cabin Fever)

Greg McLean (director, Wolf Creek, Rogue)

Darren Lynn Bousman (director, Saw II-IV, Repo! The Genetic Opera)

Alex Bustillo, Julien Maury (writer, director, Inside)

John Fawcett (director, Ginger Snaps, The Dark)

Karen Walton (writer, Ginger Snaps)

Katharine Isabelle (co-star, Ginger Snaps)

Emily Perkins (co-star, Ginger Snaps)

Vincenzo Natali(director, Cube, Splice)

Steve Niles (creator, 30 Days of Night)

and many others.

Along the way, The New Horror Handbook explores the twists and turns that have led these individuals down the darker avenues of entertainment, and what keeps their fans coming back for more.